Elevator hatch equipment mounting bracket assembly



May 20, 1969 D. T. SOULE 3,444,961

ELEVATOR HATCH EQUIPMENT MOUNTING BRACKET ASSEMBLY Filed May 29. 1967Sheet of 2 FIG I PLNVENTOR. DONALD I. SQuLE BY ATT'QICNFIVQ May 20, 19690. T. SOULE 3,444,961

ELEVATOR HATCH EQUIPMENT MOUNTING BRACKET ASSEMBLY 0 Filed May 29. 1967Sheet 2 of 2 FIG. 2

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% S xw United States Patent 3,444,961 ELEVATORHATCH EQUIPMENT MOUNTINGBRACKET ASSEMBLY Donald T. Soule, Toledo, Ohio, assignor to The RelianceElectric and Engineering Company, Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of OhioFiled May 29, 1967, Ser. No. 641,905

Int. Cl. B66b 9/00, 1/00; E04g 3/00 US. Cl. 187-1 6 Claims ABSTRACT OFTHE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention Field of the invention.-Theinvention pertains to a bracket assembly for elevator systems whichincludes means for embracing opposite surfaces of a supporting column tomilitate against any relative movement therebetween.

Description of the prior art.-Elevator control systems include meanswhich automatically control the final leveling and stopping operationfor the elevator car at a variable distance from a floor to be served,which distance is typically determined by the instantaneous velocity atthe moment the stopping operation is initiated. In such operation of anelevator, a number of controls is automatically called into action instopping the elevator car and leveling it with respect to the floorbeing served. The sequence of control operations, as the car approachesa floor, typically includes first switching the car from the high-speedrunning condition to a deceleration condition. The decelerationcharacteristics are adjusted so that the car will be moving atfast-approach speed when it is approximately two feet away from thefloor. At this point, one of a plurality of magnetic inductor switcheson the elevator car comes opposite to one of a plurality of verticallyspaced ferromagnetic vanes mounted in the elevator hatchway to establishthe controls in the fast-approach speed. This condition typically holdsuntil the car is a certain distance (the exact distance being varied byadjustment to suit the particular elevator) away from the floor anotherinductor switch is operated by cooperation with one of the spaced vanesto call for slow-approach speed. The car then decelerates until it ismoving slowly so that it is ready to stop the instant the first closedinductor switch leaves the activating vane thus permitting that switchto open. Should the car overrun, another inductor switch (normallyoperated if the car is approaching from the other direction) isenergized to establish a reverse slow-speed approach condition thusbringing the car back to the selected floor. The successful operation ofsuch a control system depends upon the accuracy of operation of theinductor switches which, in turn, depends upon the relative dispositionof the switches and the cooperating spaced magnetizable vanes.

Conventionally the ferromagnetic vanes are mounted in vertically spacedrelation in the elevator hatchway on the guide rails. In order toproperly effect such mounting, the installation is accomplished by amechanic situated or positioned on the top of an elevator car leveled atthe desired floor. One end of the vane bracket is loosely secured to theguide rail by means of a pair of guide rail clamps held in place byrespective spaced nut and bolt units, one on one side of the guide railflange and the other on the other side of the guide rail flange. Afterthe nuts are loosely tightened, the vane assembly is positionedvertically to properly align the vanes on the free end of the vanebracket with the respective leveling inductor switches mounted on theelevator car. The nut and bolt units are then tightened to fixedlyposition the vane parallel to the guide rail and at a suitable levelwith respect to the inductor switch assembly. It will be appreciatedthat the installation of the vanes is rather difficult to accomplishsince there is at least one nut and bolt unit on each side of the guiderail which much be tightened simultaneously by the installer who must atthe same time, make certain that the vane bracket is properly aligned.

It is an object of the present invention to produce an elevator switchvane bracket assembly which employs only a single adjusting nut meansfor fixedly securing the assembly to an associated guide rail.

Summary The objects and advantages of the invention may be achieved by abracket assembly for securing hardware to a columnar member in anelevator hatchway comprising a main body portion having hardware affixedthereto and containing an aperture; a threaded fastener; a spaced apartbearing point on said body portion for contact with an edge of thecolumnar member; a J-bolt having a threaded shaft at one end extendingthrough the aperture of the main body portion and for threadedengagement with the threaded fastener and the other end terminating in aJ-shape with an opposite edge of the columnar member; at least a pair ofshoulders extending from the body portion generally parallel to the axisof the J-bolt for abutting a surface of the columnar member; and aholddown clip extending from the body portion for engagement with anopposite surface of the columnar member cooperating with the shouldersfor temporarily retaining the bracket in place on the columnar memberuntil the threaded fastener is tightened.

Brief description of the drawings Other objects and advantages of theinvention will become readily apparent to those skilled in the art fromreading the following detailed description of an embodiment of theinvention when considered in the light of the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary top plan view of an elevator hatchway with acar therein disclosing the manner in which the apparatus described andclaimed herein is mounted;

3 FIGURE 2 is an enlarged plan view of the bracket assembly embodyingthe features of the invention;

FIGURE 3 is an elevational view of the assembly illustrated in FIGURE 2;and

FIGURE 4 is an end view of the assembly illustrated in FIGURES 2 and 3.

Description of preferred embodiment Referring to FIGURE 1, there isshown an elevator hatchway within which an elevator car 12 is positionedfor vertical travel. Typically, guide rails are fixedly mounted onopposite sides of the hatchway 10 for guiding the elevator car 12 duringits travel. Since FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary view, only a single guiderail 14 is illustrated. The guide rail 14 includes a pair of oppositelyextending flanges 14' and 14". Guide rollers or shoes (not shown)aflixed to the elevator car 12 are adapted to ride on respectivewell-machined faces of the inwardly extending supporting beam portion 16of the guide rail 14. The cooperation between the guide rail 14 and theguide rollers or shoes militates against any car sway during theoperation of the elevator.

The typical elevator car, comprising the flooring, walls and roof ismounted within a car sling which completely encircles the car andprovides the supporting structure which is coupled to one end of asupporting cable. The other end of the cable may be carried over a drumat the top of the hatchway, which drum is coupled in a conventionalmanner to a hoist motor.

The car sling includes horizontally extending crossheads 18, onedisposed at the bottom of the car and the other at the top of the car.The opposite ends of the crossheads 18 are attached to side stilemembers 20 which extend vertically adjacent each side of the car. Thecrossheads 18 and the side stiles 20 are preferably formed ofhigh-strength metal channel members which may adequately carry the loadimposed thereon by the associated car 12.

Rigidly secured to the uppermost crosshead 18, above the car 12 andgenerally parallel to the roof of the car, is another channel-shapedmember 22 at one extremity of which is rigidly connected a suitableswitchbox mounting bracket arm 24. The channel-shaped member 22 isfixedly secured to the crosshead 18 as by means of rail clips secured bythreaded fasteners 26 which extend through adjusting slots 28 formed inthe channel-shaped member 22. The adjusting slots 28 allow foradjustment of the channel-shaped member 22 perpendicularly to thecrosshead 18 for the reasons set forth hereinafter. Fixedly secured tothe opposite extremity of the switchbox mounting bracket arm 24 fromthat secured to the channelshaped member 22 is a leveling switchassembly 30. In the exemplary embodiment the assembly includes threegroups of vertically aligned switch units only one of each being shownas 32, 34 and 36 of U-shaped cross sections. In one of the legs of eachof the switch units 32, 34 and 36 there is disposed a bar magnet and inthe opposite leg in general alignment with the bar magnet is amagnetically actuated reed switch.

Mounted on the associated guide rail 14 at each floor level arestationary vanes 42, 44 and 46 to be aligned with respective verticallyaligned series of the switch units 32, 34 and 36. The vanes 42, 44 and46 are bolted or otherwise suitably affixed to one end of an arm 48 of abracket assembly of the invention, as illustrated in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4.A generally U-shaped end piece 50 is spot welded, as at 49 on flanges 51and major face 53, or otherwise affixed to the opposite end of the arm48. The end piece 50 has two spaced apart upstanding ears 52 and 54, theleading edges 55 of which are adapted to bear against one edge of theflange 14' of the columnar guide rail 14 when in use. In order to assurefor the proper alignment of the bracket assembly and the associatedhardware, careful consideration must be given to making certain that theline joining the leading edges 55 of the spaced apart upstanding cars 52and 54 is perpendicular to the longitudinal center line of the arm 48.Vanes 42, 44 and 46 are provided with a series of keyhole slots (notshown) spaced along their length to accommodate and closely fit screws57 mounted in tapped apertures 59 in arm 48. Apertures 59 are'pairedacross the Width of arm 48 with their center lines perpendicular to thelongitudinal center line of arm 48 and thus parallel to the line joiningthe leading edges of ears 52 and 54. It is important that the vanes 42,44 and 46 are disposed parallel to the path of travel of the car, asdictated by the guide rails 14. The vanes 42, 44 and 46 must fit inclose proximity to their respective switch units 32, 34 and 36 but therecan be no physical contact or interference during the relative movernenttherebetween.

Intermediate the ears 52 and 54, the end piece 50 has an aperture forreceiving the threaded shank portion of a J-bolt 56. The threaded shankportion of the J-b0lt 56 is adapted to receive a nut 58 and a lockwasher60. The opposite end of the J -bolt 56 is provided with an upturnedhook-like portion 61 adapted to extend through a slot 63 formedgenerally along the longitudinal center line of the arm 48 and hookaround the opposite edge of the flange 14" of the guide rail 14 from theedge bearing against the leading edges 55 of the ears 52 and 54.

A holddown clip 62, which advantageously is integral with the U-shapedend piece 50, is positioned on the end of the arm 48 substantiallymidway between the ears 52 and 54 of the end piece '50 and has a flatterminal portion 64 spot welded as at 49 or otherwise suitably aflixedto the suface 53 of the end of the arm 48. The opposite end of theholddown clip 62 is provided with an upturned lip 66 which facilitatesthe initial placement of the bracket assembly on an associated guiderail. Tip 66 bears against the face of rail flange 14' which faces thecar sling. It is spaced from the face 53 of the arm 48 less than therail flange thickness to frictionally engage that flange when thebracket is mounted as in FIGURE 1. It will also be noted that theholddown clip 62 is of substantial breadth to adequately provide itshold down function when in use.

In order to insure an accurate positioning of the face 53 of arm 48parallel to the longitudinal running face of the rail as a referencesurface for mounting elements such as leveling vanes having substantiallength in that direction, care is exercised in forming the face 53 toinsure that spaced regions across its width and throughout its lengthare in a common plane. In the event there is a deviation in flatness ofsurface 53 this deviation should be concave with respect to the surfacewhich abuts the rear of the rail flanges whereby at least the portion ofthe surface 53 adjoining the flanges 51 are coplanar.

With the above description of the structure in mind the appropriateinstallation procedure will now be described. The switch vane bracketassembly illustrated in FIGURES 2, 3 and 4 is mounted on the guide railafter the car control circuits are operating. The elevator car isinitially leveled at a floor and a switch vane bracket assembly ismounted by initially loosening the nut 58 of the I-bolt 56 to allow forenough space between the leading edges 55 of the cars 52 and 54 and theend of the hook-like upturned portion 61 of the I-bolt 56 to accommodatethe reception of the flanges 14' and 14" of the guide rail 14. Duringthis procedure the switch vane bracket assembly is rocked to a positionto allow the flange 14' of the guide rail 14 to be received between theupturned terminal portion 66 of the holddown clip 62 and the face 53 ofbracket arm 48. The spring tension of the holddown clip is sufiicient toadequately retain the vertical position of the switch vane bracketassembly until the mechanic tightens the nut '58 to reduce the distancebetween the bight of upturned edge end 61 of the l-bolt 56 and theleading edges of the cooperating ears 52 and 54 to tightly engage theflanges of the guide rail 14 therebetween. It will be understood thatprior to this time the vanes 42, 44 and 46 have been properly bolted tothe end of the arm 48 by threaded fasteners 57 shown in FIGURES 2 and 3.After the switch vane bracket assembly has been suitably located at thedesired vertical position, the channel-shaped member 22 is suitablysecured to the crosshead member 18 by threaded fasteners 26. Next, theswitchbox mounting bracket arm 24 is aflixed to the end of the member 22and the reed leveling switch assembly 30 is secured to the terminal endthereof. The reed leveling switch assembly 30 is then adjusted so thatthe vanes 42, 44 and 46 are properly aligned midway between the legs ofthe switch units 32, 34 and 36 respectively.

The above procedure of mounting the vanes 42, 44 and 46 is repeated withrespect to each floor stop. It will be understood that since there isonly a single reed leveling switch assembly 30 with the switch units 32,34 and 36 mounted on the elevator car, the installation thereof needonly be accomplished once.

Thus, in the case of the utilization of the mounting bracket toprecisely position leveling vanes in a hatchway by securing the bracketto a vertical guide rail having a pair of opposed flanges at the backface of the rail and a guiding element extending from between saidflanges toward the elevator and longitudinally extending along the pathof travel of the elevator, the bracket comprises a channel-shaped arm 48having a first major face 53 and opposed, longitudinally extending,marginal flanges 51 extending away from the first major face. Secured tothe arm 48 for mounting on the guide rail is a U-shaped base 50 havinglegs 67 secured to the marginal flanges 51 and a bight 68 extendingbetween the flanges 51. The bight has an aperture through which theI-bolt 56 extends. Ears 52 and 54 on each of the legs 67 extend from thelegs beyond the first major face 53 and have leading edges 55 generallyperpendicular to the face 53 which are aligned across the armperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the arm. J-bolt 56 has a shankextending through the bight aperture and extending along the arm 48 between its flanges 51. Nut 58 reacts against the bight 68 to advance thebolt relative to the bight when the nut is rotated. The major face 53 ofarm 48 has an elongate aperture 63 in alignment with the bolt shank 56.A clamp element in the form of a bight 61 on the J-bolt secured to thebolt shank and extending through the aperture 63 protrudes beyond thefirst major face 53 of arm 48 to clamp against one flange of the rail inopposition to the bearing surfaces provided by the leading edges 55 ofears 54 and 52. By this arrangement the bracket arm 48 is assured ofbeing established in a perpendicular orientation relative to thevertical flanges of the elevator guide rail such that the preciselypositioned mounting means in the form of bolts 57 at the end of arm 48remote from the guide rail are aligned in pairs parallel to the guiderail. In such an arrangement the keyhole apertures in the flanges on theleveling vanes, when fitted over the heads of the bolts, cause theleveling vanes to be precisely arranged parallel to the guide rails at afixed distance from those rails. While the paired mounting means 57 areshown in an alignment which is perpendicular to the longitudinal axis ofarm 48, it is to be understood that where the complementary mountingmeans in the leveling vane flanges are offset with respect to eachother, the corresponding offset in the mounting means should beestablished, the significant orientation being that of the length of theleveling vane which should be parallel to the guide rail.

It will be appreciated that the above described structure provides asimple and expeditious mechanism for securing switch vane bracketassemblies to the guide rails disposed in an elevator hatchway. Only asingle nut need be tightened to effect the fixed position of the bracketassembly to an associated guide rail.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes I haveexplained the principle and mode of operation of my invention and haveillustrated and described what I now consider to represent its bestembodiment. However, I desire to have it understood that the inventionmay be practiced otherwise than as specifically illustrated anddescribed without departing from its spirit or scope.

I claim:

1. A bracket assembly for securing hardware to a columnar member in anelevator hatchway comprising:

a main body portion containing an aperture;

a threaded fastener adjacent the aperture;

spaced apart bearing points aflixed to said main body portion forcontact with an edge of said columnar member;

a I-bolt having a threaded shank at one end thereof for insertionthrough the aperture of said main body portion for threaded engagementwith said threaded fastener and the other end terminating in a J-shapefor contact with the opposite edge of said columnar member;

a surface extending from said body portion generally parallel to theaxis of said J-bolt for abutting a surface of said columnar member andhaving an elongate aperture parallel to the shank of said I-bolt wherebythe J-shaped terminating end of said J-bolt extends through the elongateaperture; and

a spring biased holddown clip for engagement with an opposite surface ofsaid columnar member cooperating with said surface of said body portionfor temporarily retaining said bracket in place on said columnar member,wherein said holddown clip termi nates in a free end portion spaced fromsaid surface a distance less than the spacing between the opposedsurfaces of said columnar member.

2. A bracket for securing leveling vanes to an elevator guide rail, saidguide rail including a mounting base having opposed flanges and aguiding element extending from between said flanges, said guide railbeing mounted along the path of travel of an elevator with its guidingelement extending from its mounting base toward the elevator, saidbracket comprising:

a channel-shaped arm having a first major face and having opposed,longitudinally extending, marginal flanges extending away from saidfirst major face;

a U-shaped base having legs secured to said marginal flanges and a bightextending between said flanges;

said bight having an aperture;

ears on each of said legs extending from said legs beyond said firstmajor face and having leading edges generally perpendicular to saidfirst major face which are aligned across said arm perpendicularly tothe longitudinal axis of said arm;

a bolt having a shank extending through said bight aperture andextending along said arm between said marginal flanges;

a nut reacting against said bight to advance said bolt relative to saidbight;

said major face of said arm having an elongate aperture in alignmentwith said bolt shank;

a clamp element secured to said bolt shank and extending through saidelongate aperture to protrude beyond said first major face of said armgenerally normal to said arm; and

said clamp element and said leading edges of said ears having aseparation spanning said opposed guide rail flanges whereby the advanceof said bolt clamps said rail flanges between said element and saidleading edges of said ears.

3. A combination according to claim 2 including a pair of leveling vanemountings on said arm spaced from said ears along the length of said armeach mounting being adjacent a marginal flange and said pair beingcentered on a line perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said arm.

4. A combination according to claim 2 wherein a leveling vane adaptedfor mounting on said bracket has a pair of spaced mounting elementsincluding paired leveling vane mountings on said arm, each adjacent aflanged margin of said arm and oriented to register with the mountingson said vane to maintain said vane parallel to said guide rail.

5. A combination according to claim 2 wherein said base includes a tabextending from said bight along said first major face; and

means securing said tab to said face.

6. A combination according to claim 5 including a spring finger on saidtab extending away from said major face of said arm and bent 'backtoward said arm; and

a bearing face on said finger between said leading edges of said earsand said clamp element, said bearing face being spaced from said firstmajor face of said arm a distance less than the thickness of said railflanges and resiliently biased toward said face.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,678,786 5/1954 Kindorf 248-722,749,196 6/1956 Wolfe 248-228 2,805,735 9/1957 Kramer 187-32 3,059,88410/1932 Stanfill 248-228 3,140,848 7/1964 Sherburne 248-228 FOREIGNPATENTS 1,110,576 2/1956 France.

US. Cl. X.R.

